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HIS 427 - Ross

History Seminar

Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

► A firsthand, eyewitness account of an event or time period

► Usually written or made during or close to the event or time period

Primary Source Examples:

  • diaries, journals, letters
  • social media posts, tweet, blogs
  • period newspapers (factual accounts)
  • original research, datasets
  • government documents
  • speeches
  • interviews with event participants or witnesses
  • photographs, posters, advertisements
  • works of art (paintings, drawings, sculptures)
  • works of literature, film, and music created at the time

Secondary Sources

What is a Secondary Source?

► Offer a secondhand account, review or a critique of an event or time period

► Usually written well after the event that is being researched

► May analyze, describe, or restate information in primary resources or other secondary resources. 

Secondary Source Examples:

  • biographies
  • articles that interpret or review previous findings
  • book reviews
  • books of critical essays

Defining Questions

When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the following questions might be asked to help ascertain the nature and value of material being considered:

  • How does the author know these details (names, dates, times)? 
    Was the author present at the event or did s/he arrive soon on the scene?
  • Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
  • Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account (e.g., diary entries, along with third-party eyewitness accounts, impressions of contemporaries, newspaper accounts)?

Ultimately, all source materials no matter what type must be assessed critically, and all works describe events as scene through the eyes of the writer/interpreter. This must be taken into account when one is attempting to arrive at the 'truth' of an event.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources